Test Order

Human

Buccal swabs, oral swabs, nasal swabs, throat swabs, and urine. Consult the CDC Point of Contact about suitability of other specimen types.

50 mL for urine, 0.2 mL (preferred 2.0 mL) for all other specimen types

Swabs: Commercial swab products designed for the collection of throat specimens or flocked polyester fiber swabs are preferred. Swabs should be placed in 2 mL of standard viral transport medium (VTM) and should not be allowed to dry out. Ream the swab around the rim of the tube to retain cells and fluid in the tube. The swab should be broken off and left in the tube. Swabs should be stored at 2-8°C immediately after collection and should preferably be frozen at -70°C or lower within 1 hour after collection. If laboratories do not have immediate access to a freezer and storage at -70°C or lower is not feasible within 1 hour of collection, these specimens may be stored for up to 72 hours at 2-8°C before freezing. Freezing at -20°C or lower is acceptable if the laboratory is unable to freeze at -70°C or lower. Prior to being shipped to CDC, specimens should be frozen either at -70°C or -20°C or lower and shipped overnight to CDC on dry ice.

Urine: 50 mL of urine should be collected in a sterile, leakproof container. Urine specimens should be stored refrigerated (2-8°C) immediately after collection and shipped to CDC overnight on refrigerated or frozen cold packs. Urine specimens must arrive at CDC within 7 days of specimen collection. Urine cannot be frozen.

Consult the CDC Point of Contact for information on the collection, storage, and preservation of other specimen types.

For buccal swabs, oral swabs, nasal swabs, and throat swabs: Standard viral transport medium (VTM). Transport medium is not required for urine.

Research or surveillance specimens may be labeled according to protocol. Labels should not include personally identifiable information. The results reported should NOT be used for diagnosis, treatment, assessment of health or management of the individual patient.

CDC does not accept routine shipments on weekends or holidays. Please make sure packages arrive Monday – Friday. Frozen swab specimens should be shipped frozen on dry ice overnight. Refrigerated urine specimens should be shipped with refrigerated or frozen cold packs overnight.

Ship To:
[Insert CDC Point of Contact]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
RDSB/STATT Unit 81
1600 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
[Insert CDC Point of Contact’s Telephone Number]

All samples must be shipped in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal regulations. Upon shipment, submitter should send an email to the CDC POC providing shipping company, shipped date and package tracking number.

Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), genotyping by nucleic acid sequencing

7 Days

Specimens must remain frozen; warming or freeze thawing reduces sensitivity. Cotton swabs are not recommended and may contain substances that are inhibitory to enzymes used in RT-PCR. Non-flocked synthetic swabs are not preferred and appear to be less absorbent and elute samples less efficiently.

The genotyping assay has not been cleared or approved by the FDA. The performance characteristics have not been fully established by VVPDB. The results are intended for public health purposes only and must not be communicated to the patient, their care provider, or placed in the patient’s medical record.

For additional information, please see the CDC mumps webpages https://www.cdc.gov/mumps/lab/index.html

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